Below is a column I wrote for the
Georgetown Advocate,
Hill Country News, and
Jarrell Star Ledger newspapers recently. I am pleased to see that Attorney General Greg Abbott is paying attention to the problem of union growth in Texas and has
proposed some new worker protections. (H/T
Push Junction.) I sure hope more of our Texas legislators get on board.
****
Since Texas is classified as a “Right to Work” state, many
people mistakenly believe that there are no labor unions in the state. The truth is that state law only prohibits compulsory membership; unions in Texas
may engage in collective bargaining and, in many cases, have the right to
strike. And while the U.S. Bureau of
Labor reports that union membership declined across the nation last year,
membership in Texas increased by 65,000.
Much of the Texas union growth actually occurred in the
private sector, which is startling considering that private sector unions have
been on the decline for several decades.
While private businesses cannot long survive under unsustainable union
contracts, government entities are not necessarily responsive to economic
realities; consequently most union growth has been in the public/government
sector.
One possible explanation for the Texas uptick in private
sector union membership stems from the increasing number of job-seekers fleeing
other states. While these Nouveau Texans
come for better employment opportunities, they haven’t yet made the connection
between union power and the economic decline of their home states, and they are
importing union membership to Texas.
But another reason for the uptick is that unions are
targeting Texas for growth as part of a larger Democratic strategy. Former Obama national field director and
labor union activist Jeremy Bird is heading up “Battleground Texas,” which promises
to incorporate local labor unions in their efforts to turn Texas ‘blue.’
At the local level, union bosses are especially targeting
police, firefighters, and teachers, since these workers have a highly positive,
‘hero’ status with the general public. It is psychologically difficult to
differentiate between the local teacher and the ‘teachers’ union,’ and many
voters mistakenly believe that unions are speaking for all teachers. Another clever strategy in Texas is to
completely avoid the word ‘union,’ with its negative connotations. Most public sector unions in Texas refer to
themselves as ‘associations,’ or other such benign terms. For example, few Texans realize that “Education
Round Rock” is actually a local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers
union, an organization that enjoys a cozy relationship with President Obama,
and has played an active role in opposing reforms in other states.
These local associations can wreak havoc with small
municipalities. In the small community
of Leander, Texas, the local Professional Firefighters ‘Association’ (LPFA) is
pressing for “civil service status.” Because
of loose state laws governing union power, the LPFA only needs 125 signatures
to place the matter on the ballot this May.
Conversely, if voters wanted to end civil service, more than 50% of registered
voters would need to approve.
Considering that local election turnout rarely tops 10%, the union’s
status will be a permanent fixture.
Civil Service status is highly problematic for a small
community like Leander. For starters,
the city would have to pay increased benefits, create a new civil service
commission, and hire a director and civil service attorney. Even worse, the measure would effectively ban
the 27 volunteer firefighters Leander now uses.
If the city hires only 1 new firefighter to replace every 3 volunteers,
the annual cost to taxpayers would be $1,000,000 per year. Leander already has the highest tax rate of
any municipality in the region, and will be forced to pay even higher tax
rates. Unfortunately, as a local chapter
of state and national labor unions, the LPFA will have ample manpower and
financial resources for promoting the civil service measure and impacting
future elections in the community.
While unions do not have to disclose all spending, the Labor
Department reports unions spent at least $3.3 billion of union dues on
political activity over a six-year period, and plenty of those dollars are
spent to influence Texas elections.
Pro-big-labor elected officials close to President Obama are eager to
dismantle Right to Work laws, and implement mandatory union membership and
other unfair union policies.
While we have enjoyed the benefits of our Right to Work
status, we must not be complacent about union growth in Texas. We must strengthen Right to Work protections
by requiring the exact same standards for establishing or revoking civil service status for all public sector unions. Furthermore, we need a ‘Paycheck Protection’
bill that would stop state and local governments from acting as union agents by
collecting union dues from employees.
Instead of automatic deductions, union members should pay their dues
directly to the union, and should be made aware of how those dues are
spent.
Texas is in relatively good shape, for now. But unrestrained union power is not good
news, and we need to act before it’s too late.
